Seoul church chooses Alcons audio solution

South Korea - In common with many older houses of worship, modern expectations have meant that the audio quality of sermons in the 1936-built Changsin Church in the Gangnam district of Seoul, South Korea was no longer good enough. A replacement sound reinforcement system was needed and, after a direct comparison with systems from other major manufacturers, an Alcons Audio LR14 pro-ribbon system was chosen by the church.
The church formed a committee which appointed Jang Young-wook, a church sound engineer and executive director of the Korean Church Acoustics Association, as the project consultant. He contacted the representatives of eight leading audio system manufacturers and asked them to participate in a briefing to be held at the church.
The companies included audio contractor Sky Sound, based in the city of Daegu, which had previously worked with Alcons Audio’s South Korean distributor Corelab on the project to install an Alcons pro-ribbon LR14 ultra-compact line-array system in The Gyeongsan Central Church, in Gyeongsan City. Sky Sound also owns an Alcons LR18 compact mid-size line array system in its rental inventory for live events.
The representatives of all eight brands attended the site briefing, which included details of the acoustics and the Church’s requirements, and all were asked to suggest a solution based on an identical budget. Sky Sound CEO Park Sang-hyun and Corelab’s Baek Seung-hoon had worked together on the Gyeongsan Central Church installation, so it was obvious for them to work together on this project.
As well as considering which Alcons pro-ribbon system would deliver the best sound for Church sermons, Baek Seung-hoon also considered what would be the easiest system for the Church officials to use and how it could be used to improve the visual appearance of the space where worship takes place.
From his research, he decided that the best Alcons pro-ribbon solution would be a system comprising six LR14/90 ultra-compact line-array modules, six LR14/120 wide dispersion ultra-compact line-array modules, two LR14B ultra-compact line-array bass modules, four VR8 compact versatile monitors and one CCS8 medium-format surround unit, powered and controlled by two Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers. The system would provide high quality, even coverage throughout, including both above and below the balcony, meaning no secondary speakers would be needed.
“Before installing the Alcons system, not everyone present could properly hear or understand the pastor's sermons,” says Baek Seung-hoon. “Now everyone in the church can hear every word and the pastor no longer needs to preach loudly, which was making him tired when using the old system.
“The walls of the chapel also no longer look ugly with a lot of speakers and cables. All church staff and worshippers are now enjoying a very comfortable faith life with the Alcons LR14 system.”
(Jim Evans)

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